Blood and Stone
by Querk
Summary: It is several years after the Clans have moved to their lakeside territories. Fights have broken out over territory amongst the Clans; meanwhile, a group of feral cats struggles to survive without StarClan's guidance.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: This is the first fanfic I've ever written, so enjoy!**

**Prologue**

Fear gripped at Duststar's stomach, even as he led his patrol alongside the lake shore through RiverClan territory. The full moon was high and bright that night; the sky undisturbed by clouds despite the recent storm. There was no avoiding the news he would deliver in wake of the new prophecy.

A cool breeze blew over the lake, making the pale tom's fur prickle. He tried to distract himself from the sickening feeling growing in his gut. Amber eyes turned to the stars, glowing dimly in the light of the moon. He started to count them silently, slowly, sending a prayer to StarClan with each one he spied.

Movement out of the corner of his eyes made the tom glance to the right. "Sandnose," He stated simply, anxiety making his voice rougher than normal. Duststar winced at his own harshness, but the medicine cat's gaze did not falter as he matched his leader's pace.

"Everything will be fine." The younger tom whispered, and though his face was serious, Duststar could see that familiar warm light in Sandnose's eyes. "The skies are clear tonight, that is a favorable sign. Besides, you don't want to worry the rest of the patrol…" He trailed off, falling back in line behind the leader. Though Sandnose's words only echoed his own thoughts, it was nice to hear another cat vocalize them, and Duststar walked with his tail held higher than before.

In no time at all the cats were crossing the slick log bridge and had set foot on the rocky island. They gathered in silence, the second Clan to arrive. RiverClan sat on the opposite side of the clearing, sticking close together like a school of fish, refusing to mingle. It was then that Duststar knew that the Gathering wasn't going to go as well as Sandnose had hoped, and he grit his teeth.

With a powerful leap he took his place in the lower branches of the oak just as ThunderClan and ShadowClan arrived, and a low murmur rose from the crowd as the non-RiverClan cats began to share news amongst themselves. When the leaders situated themselves in their respective positions, the second Gathering of newleaf began.

"ThunderClan has lost an apprentice in the wake of the storm," Kestrelstar began to his right, the tom's low rumbling voice silencing the others. "Smokepaw drowned in the river, swollen from the recent rainfall. He will be missed." The fluffy tom waited for the few whispers to die down once more before continuing. "The prey is returning after fleeing from the storm. ThunderClan continues to flourish."

After the bluntness of the ThunderClan leader, Mothstar's news was welcome, as it gave more time for Duststar to think. "The extra water in the marsh is draining back into the earth. The apprentice's den was destroyed, but has been rebuilt. Our prey is still running and we have fully recovered from the storm. Two apprentices were made warriors as well. Acornpaw has been made Acornfoot, and his sister Gingerpaw will now be known as Gingerheart." A few cheers rose from below, most of them from ShadowClan. It was clear after a brief moment of silence that Mothstar had finished and only two Clans were left to present.

Duststar glanced at the small silver she-cat seated on the branch just above him, but Minnowstar's bright amber eyes stared back. It could be that he was only imagining that gleam of a challenge in her eyes, but with her reputation as a long-time troublemaker, he doubted it. _The Gathering must go on,_ he thought to himself reluctantly. Perhaps it would be best to get it over with sooner rather than later.

He turned back to face the four Clans. "WindClan has fully recovered from the storm," the tom began, careful to introduce the more general news first before riling up everyone. "There was little damage to our camp or Clan. We also have a new apprentice to introduce: Sandnose, our medicine cat, will be training Finchpaw." Murmured greetings rippled through the crowd; Finchpaw hid behind her new mentor as best she could.

This was it. Duststar resisted the temptation to dig his claws into the hard wood beneath him. "The Twolegplace and Horseplace that was abandoned three leaf-bares ago was destroyed early on by the storm. Twolegs came and dragged the remains away with large yellow monsters, and no trace of either remains." The eyes of every cat were on him now. Duststar could feel Minnowstar leaning towards him slightly; his fur prickled under her feigned interest. "And so WindClan will begin hunting-"

"Stop." Minnowstar lightly leapt down from her branch and onto Duststar's, her tail flicking behind her. The WindClan leader felt his pelt bristling. "RiverClan's territory has flooded and the river nearly washed away the camp. The area cleared away by the twolegs is much drier and we were planning on moving our-"

"The land is muddy, and several large stones from WindClan's territory have slid down the moor onto this new formed territory." Duststar cut the female leader off before her words could infect the other cats with their faked tenderness. Minnowstar's eyes narrowed to slits, but he continued hurriedly. "WindClan has taken that as a sign from StarClan that the territory belongs to us."

She spun to face him, lips pulled back in a snarl. "How dare-"

"Enough." Sandnose leapt to his feet, approaching the base of the tree. Finchpaw, unsure of what to do, followed her mentor closely with her eyes focused on her paws. "StarClan has sent a prophecy."

Every pair of ears pricked, straining to hear the WindClan medicine cat. Even Finchpaw managed to tear her gaze away from the ground to look up at her mentor. Sandnose's eyes never left the four leaders gathered above. "If the stones wash away with the rain, blood will rise again." Several gasps were heard; the RiverClan cats yowled their protests. The tom continued. "Please. Don't let blood be spilled when there has been peace between the Clans."

Minnowstar leapt once more, off of Duststar's branch to land lightly on the ground. Her patrol parted as she padded between them, stopping just short of the edge of the clearing. She turned, her hardened stare falling on Duststar. "If WindClan wants blood, then there will be blood. For we have heard _nothing_ of such prophecy." The leader spat the last word, and with that, the RiverClan cats left the clearing.


	2. Chapter 1: Halle

**Chapter 1**

"Watch out, Halle!"

The silver she-cat barely had time to stop in her tracks before two kits sped past, chasing a petal that floated idly by. Otto leapt to grab it but fell short, and in the end it was Chess that emerged triumphant, puncturing the pink petal with her small sharp teeth.

"Aww, no fair!" The tom lamented. "You have longer legs than I do!" He tackled Chess, but she rolled and batted him away.

"No, it's mine!" With that she took off, a streak of black against the stony side of the Twoleg den. The tabby soon followed, laughing and trying to nip her tail whenever he got close enough.

"Otto, Chess! It's late!" A sharp voice rang out, and the two kits stopped in their tracks. Reluctantly the duo returned to the pure white she-cat that called them; Chess clamped her teeth down on the petal tightly. Five younger kits were already nesting nearby and they joined them, curling around their tiny bodies to keep each other warm.

"Cute, aren't they?" Halle turned her head away from the scene to see a stocky gray tom, his pelt rubbing her own slightly. She could feel the deep rumble of his purr. On any other day, his companionship would have been welcome; the warmth of his fur against hers a source of comfort.

Halle turned away, tail drooping. "Yeah. Cute."

She started to pad away, but only managed to get a few foxlengths away before the tom stopped her, bounding into her path. Halle looked at her paws. "Leave me alone right now, Zero."

"No." _No_? The she-cat's head rose, meeting Zero's steady stare with a hardened one of her own. But his soon melted from harshness to concern, and he spoke softly. "C'mon, Halle. You've been acting like this for a quarter moon. Tell me what's up."

"You don't see it, do you?" She half hissed, feeling her toes flex and fur bristle. "There's seven kits over there out of nearly twenty of us, and we can barely feed ourselves in this rat-nest, not to mention the Twolegs that keep showing up and…" She took a breath and lowered her head, forcing herself to calm her shaking voice. "What I'm saying is, we need to move, or we're not going to make it here much longer."

When she raked up the courage to look Zero in the eye again, his face was grim. "I know what's going on, Halle. But this is the best place we've found so far. We can search tomorrow after sunhigh-"

Halle shook her head. "No, we need to go father. Not just to another Twolegplace or-"

"Well, when you figure out what that place is, tell me." He turned away from her, his long tail nearly hitting her in the nose in the process. "And get some sleep tonight, would you? Or one of these days you're going to go foxhearted."

'_Oh please, you've never been face to face with a fox in your life._' With a huff the silver cat padded towards where she made her nest, careful to avoid the clear sharp rocks- kittypets called it glass, she recalled- that littered the ground. Halle swept away some of the twoleg rubbish with her tail before curling into a tight ball on the gritty ground, head resting on her forepaws.

Her eyes looked up, through the branches of the tree that scraped the stone twoleg nest overhead. A few pricks of light hung in the quickly darkening sky. "Only four tonight," she whispered to herself, turning her head to face the other loners.

There was Snowy, her long matted tail wrapped protectively around the kits. Zero, Cloud and Tango were sprawled out in one group, Jekyll and Dylan another. Karma and Viola kept watch by the overgrown bramble bush, scanning for any twolegs that might try to scoop up the others. Halle noticed that a few were gone, either to go visit friends or find a meager scrap to eat.

She rolled over onto her back, trying her best to get comfortable despite the grit and grime that clung to her pelt. A lone cloud overhead hid the four stars that shone just moments ago. '_Maybe Zero's right_,' Halle thought unhappily. '_Maybe I should stop looking at the sky all the time and get a good night's rest. Or try to._'

.

When Halle opened her eyes moments later to an unusual scene, she knew she was dreaming. Gone was the stone twoleg den, gone were her companions. But the stars were there- more than she had ever seen in her life- and Halle couldn't help but stare, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"We call it Silverpelt."

The silver she-cat jumped at the voice. She spun around, nearly coming nose-to-nose with a fluffy pale tabby. Halle had to remind herself that it was just a dream and there was no reason for her heart to feel like it was about to leap out of her chest. Even so, her toes gripped at the soft ground.

The other cat tilted her head at Halle's feet. "No claws?"

Face burning at the statement, she forced her paws to relax. "No _front_ claws," Halle admitted, curling her tail around her to cover her toes. She sought to change the topic quickly. "This can't be real. I've never seen so many stars."

"That's because you're living in your own dirt in the middle of a twolegplace." Halle's fur bristled at the other cat's remark; after all, they were doing the best they could do with what they had. She opened her mouth to interrupt, but the pale tabby continued coarsely. "That's why I'm here. My name is Smallstorm."

"Smallstorm." The name was strange on her tongue. "That's… different. I've never met a cat with a name like that."

"That's because you've never met a Clan cat."

Halle took the opportunity to get a better look at the she-cat in front of her. She was small, that much was true. Her tabby stripes were faded on her back and shoulders, blending in with the even cream tone. And- Halle wasn't sure if she was seeing this correctly- her fur glinted when she shifted.

"A Clan cat…" She echoed. It sounded interesting enough. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"It means that we're living in a better state than you lot are." Halle's tail uncurled and lashed behind her. Smallstorm frowned at her. "Oh, don't get your tail in a knot. I told you, I'm here to help. If you stop getting so offended and pay attention, I can lead you to the Clans."

Halle shook her head. "No you can't. This is just a dream. None of this is real, none of it's going to happen."

It was Smallstorm's turn to bristle. "Fine. You need convincing. I should have figured." Halle waited as the Clan cat took a deep breath and her fur settled slightly. "There's a gray she-kit, young, maybe three moons old."

"Her name's Fable," Halle recalled. "She's small, but strong-hearted. Her brother is Nova."

Smallstorm shot her a strange look. "And you said my name was different. But that's beside the point. She's sick, and the symptoms will start to show soon. We call what she has 'whitecough'. Harmless, if you catch it early. But if you do nothing, it'll get much worse and spread to the others."

Halle's whiskers twitched as she considered Smallstorm's words. There was a shadow of doubt, but if it was somehow true, she didn't want Fable to suffer. Worry started to gnaw at her, and she shifted uncomfortably where she sat. It was a dream, but more realistic than the ones she had before... Should she trust it?

"There's an herb we use to treat it, called catmint. You've probably stumbled across it before; twolegs grow it in their gardens. Give the leaves to the kit to eat." Smallstorm shoved a small bundle of plants forward that Halle hadn't noticed before. She bent, rolling it over with her pink nose. It was sweet-smelling with soft leaves. "Learn it, and learn it well. It'll save lives."

"Thank-" She looked up to find the older she-cat quickly growing transparent, along with the rest of her surroundings. Even the stars were starting to dim.

"I have to go now. Remember the catmint. And Halle," the silver cat blinked at her name, realizing she had never mentioned it to her. "It's more than just a dream."


End file.
